CHAPTER 63: START.

Inside the guild channel, modest panic escalated into opera.

Jiang Jiu: That damage is impossible. He’s hacking. Tank4Hire: Report him! Laozi Jiu Jiujiu:I died in one hit. Again. This is personal.

A minute later, someone dropped a screenshot into the chat: the new equipment sheet from the game mall. The channel went silent, then exploded.

Archer_7:Guaranteed set... $100,000?! ClericGo:They even posted the drop probabilities. In red. Are we being trolled by the UI team? Treasurer Chen:The probability table says your luck has left the chat.

Chen Cong opened the mall himself. There it was: an outrageously honest scam—rates so low they had their own basement and a guarantee at $100,000.

His disappointment faded into a slow smile. Not cheating. Just spending.

"Compete with me using equipment?" He said to nobody, rolling his wrist. "Fine. Let’s compete with money."

He recharged $300,000 without blinking. Three guaranteed sets: one for himself, two for his lieutenants. In guild chat, he typed two words:

Brother Hao: Start.

The channel detonated.

Jiang Jiu: Brother Hao is awesome! Archer_7: Brother Hao is generous!! Laozi Jiu Jiujiu: Dad—I mean Boss—adopt me.

Chen Cong leaned back, satisfied. "Hunt him. When you find Xueluo, ping me. I want the first swing."

Across the room, his assistant winced at the receipt emails chiming like funeral bells.

Suho shut his monitor and stretched. Cafeteria first, team building second.

He grabbed his notebook titled HOW TO LOSE MONEY LIKE A GENTLEMAN and scribbled:

Double order of ergonomic chairs (for the game studio and the break room nobody uses)

Team building venue: lakeside resort, multipurpose hall, karaoke, archery, indoor surfing (why not?)

Buffet packages: the expensive column, twice

Transportation: buses with reclining seats that recline too far

He checked his remaining system funds. The day after tomorrow is settlement. Perfect timing to light the rest on fire.

In HPO, guild scouts spread out again. Jiang Jiu led a squad into the western wilds. Their party chat dripped with superstition.

Archer_7: If Brother Hao draws three sets, does the system curse someone else to be unlucky forever? Tank4Hire: That’s not how RNG works. Treasurer Chen: That’s exactly how RNG works.

A ping came in from the south flank.

Scout_3: Saw him—the ID Xueluo—testing damage on rock golems. He three-shot a golem.

Jiang Jiu: That’s our guy. Mark him and call Brother Hao. Don’t engage. We go in together.

They closed in, slow and careful. A hawk circling.

At Horny Princess Interactive, Fen Su rubbed at eyes that had replaced sleep with coffee. The build had passed QA, the probability table was pinned to the gacha like a scarlet letter, and the forums were already inventing new insults for planners.

Fen Su (muttering): "Who designs a $100k guarantee and lives?"

Then he remembered Suho’s "Do it anyway."

He sighed, forwarded the patch report to Cho Rin, and added a PS: "Team building memo received. Please confirm the resort has karaoke. The staff voted 17–2 for ’Yes, obviously.’"

Cho Rin replied instantly: "Booked. Also added archery and indoor surfing per Mr. Kim’s ’money must suffer’ directive."

Fen Su stared at the email, wondering if their CEO was a genius, a madman, or both.

Suho logged back in that evening, purely to "check the weather." The moment he touched the wilds, a familiar force pressed in. Guild pings cascaded. The grass itself seemed to vibrate.

A private chat yanked open.

Brother Hao: Kneel now, and I’ll only take your gear.

Suho typed:

Xueluo:Come collect.

The chat folded. The sky darkened with arrows. Drums boomed. Someone had spent real money on the "War Entrance" animation, and, for once, it wasn’t me.

He smiled. Let’s see if $300k buys a personality.

The first clash was brutal. Chen Cong’s swing cracked the grind effect; Suho’s parry sparked like magnesium. Damage numbers leapt like stock tickers.

Jiang Jiu (party): Boss, he’s still hitting too hard—

Brother Hao:Stack buffs. Rotate shields. I’ll break his rhythm.

They did. For twenty seconds.

Then Suho changed tempo, slid behind two tanks, and erased them like typos. He used terrain, line-of-sight, and the new set’s passive that punished clustered enemies. The guild formation wobbled.

Archer_7: He’s baiting our ultimates! ClericGo: I’m out of mana. Who keeps triggering the passive?!

Chen Cong gritted his teeth. He’s good. Fine. So am I. He popped a rare consumable and surged forward—

—and ate a stun to the face.

Suho’s laugh was soft and surgical. "Wallet doesn’t teach footwork."

He didn’t wipe them this time. He cut the head off, then let the body panic. With Brother Hao down, the guild morale plummeted, rotations broke, and chat devolved into a blame storm.

Two minutes later, the wilds were quiet again.

Xueluo (local): Rinnd three tomorrow. Bring cash.

Log out.

Suho closed the client and messaged Cho Rin.

Suho: Finalize resort. Double everything on the invoice that looks unnecessary. Especially the unnecessary parts.

Cho Rin: Copy. Added espresso carts on every corner. Also, the karaoke package includes a fog machine and laser lights.

Suho: Excellent. Fog reduces visibility. People won’t notice me crying over the bill.

He leaned back, satisfied. Game whales hooked. Staff pampered. Funds are bleeding on schedule. Settlement day, come to papa.

"Director Jin, you just joined the company; you should be the one to announce this news. It’s a good chance to let the employees see you not just as ’the parachuted boss’s guy,’ but as someone who actually represents them."

In the office, Fen Su spoke gently, but his eyes gleamed with calculation. He had just received the message from Kim Suho—location and time for tomorrow’s joint team-building. Fen Su decided to push the spotlight onto Jin Wu. If the announcement was well received, good. If the employees grumbled, Jin Wu would take the heat. A perfect buffer.

Jin Wu smiled knowingly. He had run business long enough to recognize when someone was throwing him a bone—but he wasn’t so naive as to miss the fact that this bone might also be baited. Still, Suho had trusted him. He had to do it.

"Thank you, Manager Fen. I’ll handle it."

Fen Su waved it off. "What’s thanks? Boss treats us like humans, not machines. That means we must treat the company like it’s ours. Otherwise, aren’t we just wasting his good intentions?"

The two men shared a laugh that didn’t quite reach their eyes.